Tube Talk's Pick of the Pilots

Pilot season is in full swing now, and we're starting to get a bit excited about what shows could be coming up in the future. The thing is, there are so many going around that it's a bit difficult to keep track. Never fear - Tube Talk's here to make everything easier for you! We've had a gander at the titles, casts and concepts and picked out some dramas that we reckon will be worth a look. Read on to see if you agree...

Selections and commentary by Morgan Jeffery and Catriona Wightman

More As The Story Develops

Aaron Sorkin is, basically, a genius. This man created The West Wing and the woefully underrated Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip and then went and topped it off by getting an Oscar nomination for The Social Network. So thank God he's coming back to television - he's penning a new show for HBO about life in a broadcast newsroom. Yes - it's basically the same idea as Sports Night, The West Wing and Studio 60. Yes - it will probably feature lots of people walking down corridors and talking quickly. Do we care? No. We just want to get our hands on it as soon as possible (and we're also really excited to see who'll be cast - we're rooting for a Donna and Josh reunion). [CW]

Person of Interest

Television supremo J.J. Abrams is back with a new action-drama, in which a former CIA agent, played by Jim Caviezel, narrowly escapes death and teams up with a mysterious billionaire (Lost's Michael Emerson) to fight crime in New York City. With Emerson on board, we're willing to tune in and trust that Undercovers was just an unfortunate blip for the usually reliable Abrams. Let's hope too that Person of Interest will wipe away all memory of Caviezel's last TV project, the lamentable AMC reboot of The Prisoner. [MJ]

Pan Am

It was only a matter of time before the success of Mad Men started filtering through to the networks, and sure enough we've got two 1960's based shows to get excited about. NBC's Playboy sounds amazing, but we're even more interested in ABC's Pan Am. With a cast that includes Christina Ricci - incredible - it focuses on the stewardesses and pilots working for the famous Pan Am airline. We're already excited about the period detail (and the uniforms!) - it's just a matter of whether the script can live up to the promise. [CW]

Alcatraz

Another Abrams offering that takes place on the eponymous island prison. The project will follow police officer Rebecca Madsen (Sarah Jones) as she investigates the reappearance of twenty wardens and prisoners of Alcatraz who have been missing for fifty years. With a mysterious island setting and Hurley himself, Jorge Garcia, also taking on a key role, it's looking like this show is the strongest contender yet to fill that Lost-shaped hole in all our hearts. Throw in a solid support cast, including Heroes star Santiago Cabrera, ER's Parminder Nagra and the legendary Sam Neill, and we're sold! [MJ]

Secret Circle

If you're a fan of The Vampire Diaries (and who isn't?) you might want to give Secret Circle a go - it's executive produced by the same guy (Kevin Williamson) and based on a book by Vampire Diaries novelist L. J. Smith. The show focuses on a young girl who moves to Salem and discovers she's a witch, which clearly means that we'll get cliffhangers, twists, and shocking surprises. As if that wasn't enough, it stars Britt Robertson - Lux from the canceled-too-soon show Life Unexpected. We're practically setting the tape already. [CW]

Exit Strategy

Those of you still missing 24 may find your interest piqued by this new action-drama. Ethan Hawke, re-teaming with his Training Day director Antoine Fuqua, takes the lead role of Eric Shaw, leader of a team of CIA operatives who specialise in extracting fellow agents from missions gone awry! Spooks actress Megan Dodds and Saving Private Ryan's Tom Sizemore have also signed up for the project, which is being tipped as a successor to the adventures of Jack Bauer due to its use of real-time elements. We're definitely excited for this one, but only time will tell if Shaw and co. can really replace Jack and his CTU cohorts in our affections! [MJ]

Once Upon A Time

There seem to be a lot of fairytale and supernatural pilots around this season. NBC's Grimm, set in a world inhabited by creatures from Grimm's Fairy Tales, sounds pretty good. We're also intrigued by ABC's Hallelujah, which comes from the creator of Desperate Housewives and focuses on a small town being ripped apart by the forces of good and evil (it even comes complete with a gospel choir). But ABC's Once Upon A Time sounds the most exciting to us. It focuses on a town where the magic of fairytales appears to be real and has a great cast including Jennifer Morrison, Robert Carlyle, and Bobby Draper from Mad Men! We're looking forward to seeing how characters like Snow White and Rumpelstiltskin end up... [CW]

17th Precinct

The latest project from Battlestar Galactica veteran Ron Moore has one of the best premises for a pilot this year - a team of cops investigate crimes in a world where magic is real! Moore certainly isn't shy when it comes to drawing on his past successes, having recruited Battlestar's Jamie Bamber, Tricia Helfer and James Callis, as well as Caprica's Esai Morales, for the pilot. With Smallville's Kristin Kreuk also on board as the wife of Bamber's crime scene expert, 17th Precinct is pretty much essential viewing for cult and sci-fi fans! [MJ]

Hart Of Dixie

Summer's back! Yep, The OC's star Rachel Bilson has signed up to star in a new show. That's basically the main reason we're looking forward to seeing Hart Of Dixie. To be fair, Josh Schwartz - who created The OC, Chuck and Gossip Girl - is behind it. The story isn't anything too thrilling - a New York doctor moves to a Southern town - but with Summer and Josh we reckon it'll be worth tuning in. While we're at it, Josh is also behind a pilot for ABC called Georgetown which focuses on a group of people working in Washington. It basically sounds like an even younger, even sexier, even soapier version of The West Wing - count us in. [CW]

REM

He may be best known now for his role as Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, but Brit actor Jason Isaacs has delivered some powerhouse performances in the likes of Showtime's Brotherhood and we're intrigued to see how he'll fare in this Inception-inspired drama. Isaacs will play a police detective who's involved in a traumatic car accident with his family and wakes up in two fractured realities. In the first, his wife is the only other survivor, while in the second, his son is the one who pulls through! Former 24 President Cherry Jones and Wilder Valderrama also star in this project from 24 producer Howard Gordon and Lone Star creator Kyle Killen. [MJ]

Honourable Mentions

Veep - Armando Iannucci's new pilot for HBO about a female vice-president. We're expecting an American version of The Thick Of It. Ace. [CW]Touch - Or what Jack Bauer and the creator of Heroes did next. Kiefer Sutherland teams up with Tim Kring for this tale of a father who discovers that his autistic son can predict future events. [MJ]Locke & Key - Based on a comic book series, the drama focuses on a family who return to the old family home after the patriarch is brutally murdered. We're hoping for a properly scary, creepy show. [CW]Ringer - Buffy's back on the box! Sarah Michelle Gellar will play dual roles in this thriller, which follows a young woman who takes on the persona of her identical twin to evade the Mafia. [MJ]Poe - The famous author is reimagined as a detective using unusual methods to solve crimes. Intriguing! [CW]

Possible Disasters

Wonder Woman - David E. Kelley's take on the DC Comics hero will reportedly see Friday Night Lights star Adrianne Palicki singing along to Katy Perry tunes and lamenting the breast size of her action figure. Plus, Liz Hurley is the villain. [MJ]Cooper And Stone - Two female detectives are equally as comfortable solving crimes as they are discussing shoes and fashion. Could that be a more patronising idea? [CW]Charlie's Angels - An Angels reboot isn't necessarily a bad idea, but a buff Bosley with "GQ" looks and a "Peter Pan" smile? Yuck. [MJ]Partners - Another show about two female detectives - this time they're secretly sisters. Shock horror! [CW]Work It - Amaury Nolasco (Prison Break's loveable Sucre) stars in this comedy about two unemployed car salesmen who dress up as women to win jobs as pharmaceutical reps. Riiiiiight. [MJ]

What do you think of our list? Are there any pilots you're hoping will get picked up? Sound off below!